Chicken Salad Al La Barbara

This was an amazing salad. I've been scrambling to find the perfect main course for a bridal shower and I have to search no more. The perfect blend of pasta, chicken, and fruit makes it a well rounded dish for a luncheon. I just finished eating my second helping of the test batch and I know it will be a hit!

What a great chicken salad. I made a few changes due to my own preferences. I skipped the oranges, and the pasta, instead of adding the Tbls of sugar I added 2 Tbls of the pineapple juice. I used 1/2 cup of mayo and 1/2 cup of miracle whip added a few green onions, cut down the celery to 2 stalks, and grilled four chicken breasts. I served the chicken salad in warm soft pitas. I know I changed mine alot but this recipe gave me the foundation for what I was looking for.

This is delicious! I love the hint of nutmeg. I used fresh broccoli instead of the celery and it came out great.

I boiled a whole chicken and left out the oranges. I used twice the amount of purple grapes instead. I added a little Miracle Whip to make it creamier and my husband and I loved it. No doubt this is one of our favorite summer salads.

I am a big chicken salad fan, I absolutely love this! I have made it several times, but I leave out the mandarin oranges and the milk - they seem to make it too soupy. I do not add nutmeg either. I have made this a dozen times, I have gotten many requests for the recipe .

Very very good, but any salad like this that I make must have NUTS...nuts nuts nuts. I love nuts. Especially almonds...sliced ones work well with this recipe. This is a terrific recipe!

I loved it -- others in the family did not. I agree with the lady that mentioned making it for a ladies luncheon. My hubby and kids didn't like the mix of fruit and chicken in a salad. Personally, I thought it was great!

This is a great twist on chicken salad; very refreshing. I made it without the pasta and it was delicious. Good dish for the summertime.

This is an excellent main corse salad on a hot summer day. I wanted to make sure my husband would like it so I left out the pineapple and only a small pinch of nutmeg. It was the right consistency without the milk. Easy to make but lots of chopping. My Pampered Chef chopper made it much quicker. This is a definate keeper.

Very tasty; however, a lot of work involved with all the different fruits. My mother liked the taste, and would like for me to make this salad one day for one of her church teas. I WILL!! :o)

Excellent way to give chicken salad a face lift!! The combination of flavors and textures was very tasty. I used half poppy seed dressing and half mayonnaise, no milk. I also added an asian pear in place ao one of the apples. Turned out delicious. Thanks for a great recipe

This is one of the best pasta salads I've had in a long while. The only thing I add is a sprinkle of sunflower seeds. {shelled of course}. It just gives it an extra yummy taste.

I served this at a ladies luncheon and it was wonderful, different, attractive, and delicious. Everyone wanted the recipe. It is especially nice in the summertime, since you do not have to prepare a separate fruit salad. Thanks, muffin

I am so glad you posted this i had it at a potluck and have been searching everywhere for the recipe, this sounds exactly like what i ate....thanks again!!

Considering there are only two of us, this really made a lot - great dish for a pot luck! I liked it a lot, but I did make a few changes. Most notably, I did not add any sugar!! And I added onion (shallot). These are my suggestions: 1) I used a small 8 oz can of pinapple chunks and cut them in 1/2. A full 20 oz can would be toooooo much! 2) I used 1/2 can of mandarin oranges - a full can would be OK - but be sure to add them right at the end. Mine were pretty much disintegrated by all the mixing (they're much too delicate to put in early). 3) eliminate the sugar all together! 4) I added a shallot (green onion or minced purple onion would be OK too) 5) I made the full recipe and used the 3/4 cup mayo, but next time I'll reduce the mayo a little. Hubby would have preferred Miracle Whip (I don't care for it so I stuck with the mayo). I've shared this recipe with my sisters. This is a light, healthy dinner and since I had left over grilled chicken, it was pretty quick to put together. Thank you!!

What a wonderful variation on pasta salad. Everyone loved this recipe. My husband went on and on about how much he liked it. I'll definitely be making it again.

This is great for a bridal or baby shower luncheon, or for lunch on a hot day. It tastes great!

This was good and unique, and I may try taking it to a potluck to see how it's received. I'd prefer it without the apples next time. I didn't add the milk thinking the juice from the fruits might be enough, but the pasta did end up absorbing the liquid making it a little dryer. I agree with other reviews that it seemed to be missing "something" - a little more spice or seasoning needed.

Hi. I am the "Barbara" who created this dish. Thank you all for your nice comments. Tonight we added some chunks of pears and chunks of peaches (about a cup each) just for fun. My kids really liked it. We will probably do that from now on.

This is a great recipe! I followed recipe except I omitted the celery and I used poppyseed dressing instead of the mayo. IT WAS SO DELICIOUS! I will make this often!! Thanks for posting it(O:

Very interesting, but good way to make chicken salad. I will make this again!

This is very delicious, easy, and great to take on a trip (but must be kept very chilled). It has meat, fruit, and pasta, making it a fairly complete meal. It is a recipe my whole family (all four kids included) loves.

This was really good! I had 3 servings but I made it as a side dish (omitted the chicken)to the BBQ chicken. It was great for a summer side. The kids loved the fruit too.

Mmmm... even better than I was expecting. This really is a great dish to have on a hot day! Don't skimp out on any of the fruit, because they work well together and nothing tastes out of place.

Fabulous! Perfect picnic or potluck side dish.

Good summer salad, refeshing with all the fruit! It was missing a little something for me....so I added a handful of raisins and a few pinches of curry powder (to taste) and that made quite a difference! I also made twice the amount of dressing and used most of it to coat the pasta a bit more. Not my hubby's type of salad, but a really nice salad for a get together with the girls!

I received this recipe in the monthly newsletter. I fixed it for a ladies lucheon and got many compliments. Another friend tried it and made it for a community luncheon and again everyone loved it. I'm so glad that I received it in the newsletter. Thanks, Janet

This salad was excellent. I used a poppy seed dressing instead of the mayonnaise mixture and it couldn't have tasted better. I will be making this one again!

I made this for dinner last night - very good. I thought it might need a bit more mayo, but after letting it sit in the fridge over night, the flavors married very well and it was sweet, crisp and fresh!

I made this dish for a potluck Easter brunch and it was a big hit! It is light but filling, and the mandarin orange and pineapple are a tasty addition!

I really love this recipe, but it needs a little more flavor for my taste. Usually I use a lot more ground pepper and double the sauce (also add plain yogurt). I have not yet got adding other spices down to a science , but when I get it right this is a 5 star recipe.

This recipe is excellent. Great for feeding a crowd.

Great receipe for a buffet or brunch. leave out the milk as the fruit will give off enough liquid and use a good quality mayo and Iadded more chicken so you know it was chicken salad could use shrimp, lobster,crab in place of chicken. Northwoods

I always eat third helpings of this salad! I love this recipe, so does my husband, and there are enough things in it that my toddler kids will pick out and eat ;) It's a great entree for hot weather. I like to make it with bowtie pasta. The only thing I change is that I leave out the chopped celery (which I hate) and sprinkle in some celery salt instead.

Fantastic! I have made this dish many times already and I always get rave reviews! The only thing I changed was that I added more pineapple and oranges. I make the whole recipe so that my husband and I can have leftovers for lunches.

Great recipe, wasn't sure if I'd like the pasta, but that's one of my favorite ingredients in it.

My husband didn't care for this dish. I didn't think it was bad though, and the kids liked all the fruit in it. I used dark chicken meat, but I think it would be better with breast meat. Also, this makes a better side dish than a main meal idea...imo. frogmomma

I made this for a pot-luck at work and it got great reviews. It's easy, light, and different.

First, let me say I only give 5 stars to "Thank God for this food!" food. That said, this is not bad at all. I wanted a tad more "flavor" and loved the crispiness of the celery but my better half said too much celery. Makes a lot (two meals for 4 people)! Will make again. Thanks for the recipe.

I could only get red grapes with seeds at the store so I quartered and seeded them and then I found I only had a can of crushed pineapple, so I drained it really well and I couldn't believe how good this salad is. I will make it again and again.

I made this recipe for a church luncheon and it turned out wonderful. Lots of compliments! I would prepare this one again,it's a keeper!

I loved it! However husband and kids did not. The mr. said it looks and tastes like I couldn't make up my mind to make fruit salad or chicken salad, and decided to combine the two. I would probably only make it again for a ladies luncheon. It's a tasty salad for hot nights!

I took this salad to a picnic recently, and everyone loved it. I didn't have pineapple on hand, so I replaced it with another can of oranges. It was delicious!

I made this "chicken pasta fruit salad" for a luncheon and it was a BIG hit!! Everyone wanted a heaping second helping! The fruit really gives this salad something special! I will make it again and again!

This was absolutely delicious........it was a hit with both adults and children

Really good for a lite summer dinner.

This was a HUGE HIT at a party i brought it to. I used half as much pasta, left out the celery and kept some of the pineapple juice and used half as much sugar. Very very good!!

This was very good! You have to try it.

Good for a hot day

It was almost 100F today and I was in need of a light and cool dinner. That's when I came across this recipe! I fixed the chicken salad and my whole family liked it!! (and with 6 of us, that's saying something,lol) I did not have any celery or grapes, and I added some chopped green onions. Overall: a wonderfull combination of flavors and a great taste! THANKS!

This is a great recipe! I loved it! The nutmeg threw me for a loop and I didn't care for it; but, everyone else who ate it either didn't notice or didn't mind it.

Very nice--my husband really enjoyed it. I increased the pepper and skipped the nutmeg because of allergies. I'll definitely make it again!

This recipe is the yummiest chicken salad I have ever made. Every SINGLE person I have ever shared this recipe with has gone on to share it, and so on and so on...This is really the best!

Good, good, good! I didn't have as much fruit as the recipe called for. I can imagine that it would be REALLY good with all the fruit!

Very good as a light meal on a hot night.

Served this at an early evening wedding shower and there was absolutely NONE left! This is a simple salad to make and is absolutly divine to eat. CB

I've made this a couple times and we loved it. I misplace my recipe so had to look it up today to make it for a family party. It is delicious and can't get much easier than opening cans of fruit!

nice light salad - perfect for summertime! Nice and filling with the chicken and pasta.

Made it as recipe called and really enjoyed it. Next time I will add more nutmeg and pepper. Husband suggested mango as an add in. I also liked the broccoli suggestion.

This has the potential to be my new favorite! Yummy on a hot summer day. Just tastes like it's missing "something." Next time I am going to up the spices and use a larger pasta noodle (this time I used small shells). Thanks!

I made this for dinner. My husband looked at it and said "ugh" fruit in it! He still tried it and liked it so much he went back for seconds. He said he couldn't believe it was so good..I didn't add the pineapple but added some sliced kalamata olives for the saltiness, cubes of swiss cheese and threw some macadamia nuts on top. I was so impressed with this recipe. It's a keepa....Thanks for a great recipe

Great chicken salad. I made 1 change. Because I didnt have any nutmeg and didnt want to go out and buy a whole can for a pinch I used pumpkin pie spice on a whim. Seemed to work out just fine depending on the size of your pinch.